Monday, June 2, 2014

The Hospital

click on photos to enlarge

Seeking out healing in the life of the Church

Orthodoxy offers a very precise way in which to enter into communion
with God. It is a way that must be learned, for simply "becoming
Orthodox" will not lead the seeker into an inner
life that will transform, and enlighten. Membership in the Church is
simply not enough, for the Church is not about beautiful services,
icons, or mystical theology. As a hospital for the soul, the Church is a
place wherein we can receive healing for that which ails us. It is the
place where we can be cured, and made whole.

Like the emergency
room of a local hospital, a patient can't simply walk in, and expect to
be healed. They have to submit themselves to examination by the ER
staff, who will ask them to describe what is going on, where they are
hurting, run tests, and, finally, prescribe the necessary medication
that will bring about healing.

Within the hospital of the soul,
that is the Church, her priests act in the same capacity as the ER
personnel. They interview the patient (parishioner), and examine the
heart to find the sickness, and recommend the cure. The priest becomes
the therapeutic guide, recommending what the patient (seeker) can do in
order to be made whole.

A prayer rule, the daily reading of the
Holy Scriptures, frequent confession and reception of the Holy
Mysteries, are all part of the Church's medicine that will bring about
the cure. Just as the doctor will prescribe the proper dosage, after
getting to know his patient, so too, does the priest prescribe that
which will help his spiritual son or daughter.

The spiritual
life is something that needs to be learned, perhaps more so now, than at
any time in the history of our world. As godlessness increases, so do
the obstacles to spiritual progress. The degradation of the whole of our
society, and the depths of depravity that have become a normal part of
our age, have made this a dangerous time. Go it alone spirituality can
leave one vulnerable to spiritual delusion. We all need a trusted and
experienced guide who can help us avoid the pitfalls of the pride and
self-will that would lead us down to perdition.

Love in Christ,Abbot Tryphon

Photos: The latest aerial photographs of the monastery.

"Blogs and social networks give us new opportunities for the
Christian mission...Not to be present there means to display our
helplessness and lack of care for the salvation of our brothers." His Holiness Patriarch Kirill

Monday June 2, 2014 / May 20, 2014Afterfeast of the Ascension. Tone six.

Martyr Thalelaeus at Aegae in Cilicia and companions, Martyrs Alexander and Asterius (284).
Uncovering of the relics (1431) of St. Alexis, metropolitan of Moscow and wonderworker of all Russia (1378).St. Dovmont-Timothy, prince of Pskov (1299).
Martyr Asclas of Egypt (287).
Sts. Zabulon and Susanna, parents of St. Nina (Nino) (4th c.) (Georgia).
Venerable Thalassius the Myrrh-giver of Libya (ca. 660).
Venerables Nicetas, John, and Joseph, monks, of Chios (1050).
St. Ethelbert, king and martyr (793) (Celtic & British).
Venerable Stephen, abbot of Piperi in Serbia (1697) (Greek).
St. Mark hermit (Greek).
St. Austregiselus, bishop of Bourges (624) (Neth.).You can read the life of the saint by clicking on the highlighted name.

The Scripture Readings for the Day

Acts 21:8-14

8 On the next day we who were Paul’s companions departed and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 9 Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. 10 And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 When he had come to us, he took Paul’s belt, bound his own
hands and feet, and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘So shall the
Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’”12 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then
Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I
am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the
name of the Lord Jesus.”14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”

John 14:27-15:7

27 Peace
I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I
give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. 31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.

The True Vine

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide
in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless
it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

All-Merciful
Saviour Monastery is a monastery of the Western American Diocese, under the omophor
of His Eminence Kyrill, Archbishop of San Francisco and Western
America. The Monastery is a non-profit 501 C3 organization under IRS
regulations. All donations are therefore tax deductible. We depend on
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